We cannot talk about a breakthrough today, said Karol Nawrocki, president of the Institute of National Remembrance and PiS presidential candidate. In RMF FM, he referred to the words of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who informed about the decision regarding the first exhumations of Polish victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). – Ukrainians must take into account our position when it comes to exhumation issues, while we should support Ukraine's membership in NATO, also in the European Union – emphasized the deputy head of PO, Rafał Trzaskowski. Speaking about Nawrocki, he said that he was “very surprised by his competitor's words.”
On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov visited Poland and met with the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Hanna Wróblewska. The Ministry of Culture reported that “ministers discussed the key role of culture in maintaining national identityas well as about the impact of culture on the socio-economic development of both countries.
On the same day, on the X platform, the head of government Donald Tusk wrote: “Finally a breakthrough. There is a decision on the first exhumations of Polish victims of the UPA. I thank the ministers of culture of Poland and Ukraine for good cooperation. We are waiting for further decisions.”
The candidate referred to these words in an interview on Saturday on RMF FM PIS for president and boss Institute of National Remembrance Karol Nawrocki. – We cannot talk about a breakthrough today. I am happy with the Prime Minister's information, because it is the Polish state and the interest of the Polish state that the Institute of National Remembrance has been pursuing, not only during my presidency, but for many years, by applying for exhumations in Volhynia, he said.
– If this will really be a breakthrough, because we don't know it, we at the Institute (of National Remembrance – ed.) have already experienced many breakthroughs, or even declarations of breakthroughs – he added.
Presidential candidate and president of the Institute of National Remembrance Karol Nawrocki at the conference Photo from January 8, 2025PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Nawrocki about what a “breakthrough” is and Ukraine's joining NATO
– We are talking about 1,500 towns that have disappeared from the map and 120,000 victims, so starting the exhumation would be a breakthrough. I don't know what the Prime Minister considers a breakthrough, he said. He also declared that as the Institute of National Remembrance, they are “ready to fulfill their duties.”
When asked whether he did not think that Thursday's decision was proof of the effectiveness of the current government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, given that Ukrainian representatives banned such exhumations in the spring of 2017, he replied: – We don't know yet whether it is a success. I would like it to be a success for the Polish state and for building our relations with Ukraine on truth and values that could unite us. However, the modern state must take care to bury victims even from 80 years ago.
During the conversation on RMF FM, they were also touched upon Nawrocki's words from Thursday about not imagining Ukrainea country that – as he said – does not account for its past, co-created international institutions such as European Union Whether NATO. Asked whether he would change his mind on this issue if Ukraine agreed to the exhumations, he explained: – This main premise, which for me is very blocking, of course, if there was a real breakthrough (…), it would stop worrying me.
Trzaskowski: I was surprised by my competitor's words
The deputy head of PO commented on Donald Tusk's statement about a breakthrough in the matter of exhumation of the bodies of Polish UPA victims at a press conference on Saturday. Rafał Trzaskowski. – This is an absolutely basic matter. Ukrainians must understand that if they want to continue to count on our support, and Poland supports Ukraine the most today in the fight against Putin and Russiathen they must, of course, listen to these demands, which are so important to us, he emphasized.
Trzaskowski said he was happy with the success of the Polish government, but “he was surprised by the words of his competitor (Nawrocki – ed.) calling into question Ukraine's membership in NATO or the European Union.”
– Of course, Ukrainians must take into account our position when it comes to exhumation issues, while we should support Ukraine's membership in NATO, also in the European Union, although indeed this membership will not be easy, because it will require years of adjustments – he said.
Trzaskowski: Ukrainians must take into account our position when it comes to exhumation issues
Main photo source: PAP/Radek Pietruszka